A Simple Hunt (Isollana, Svan)

by **Iskessah** on July 20th, 2013, 11:37 pm

Iskessah felt a wave of dismay as the idiot male forgot to let go after he bit the boar. She'd be held responsible if he died, and she did not feel like being punished for taking on such a mistake of a Dhani. Of course, no one knew he was out here with her. It was Isollana she'd been in charge of today, and nobody could really blame Iskessah for the girl jumping over a cliff. She let these thoughts comfort her, right up until she realized the bear was coming straight for her.

She let go of the tree, thudding to the ground in a haphazard pile of snake-tail, and somewhat bruising her nose. She quickly gathered herself into a pile, trying to stay as quiet as she could in hopes that the bear would pass her by. Unfortunately, all her moving around was creating some rustling sounds in the leaves, and the bear ambled uncertainly toward her, grunting. When it got too close for comfort, Iskessah gave up trying to hide and shook her rattle with everything she had, but the stupid giant apparently didn't know the universal language for "avoid this poisonous snake."

Instead of turning and running like a sensible bear, this one seemed to take offense, and began pounding the ground and making loud noises. It was clearly going to attack if Iskessah didn't do something fast. She couldn't take on something like this without some sort of advantage, and since her fellow Dhani were either over a cliff or riding wild boars, her only possible advantage would be to strike first.

She coiled herself up as tightly as she could in preparation, hissing all the while to give the beast one last chance to back off. Then, fast as lightning, she shot her head forward, biting into the bear's front paw. The bear let out a deafening roar that could probably be heard for miles, and it hurt Iskessah's ears to be that close to it. After pumping a dose of venom into the monster, she let go and slithered as fast as she possibly could in any direction that was away, but she apparently wasn't fast enough. The grizzly took a swipe at her, leaving a few long gashes in her back.

Iskessah was too terrified to let the pain of her wounds slow her down just yet. All of her mind's power was directed toward how she could survive this. Even as fast as she was going, the bear was still limbering behind her, keeping up with ease. She had used up most of her venom. She maybe had one dose left at best, but that wasn't going to be enough to even slow this thing down.

It occurred to her, in the midst of her distress, that she had not even gotten anything to eat on this hunting trip. She'd used up nearly all her venom, and had nothing to show for it except losing two younglings and possibly dying. A perfect end to a perfect day.

Speaking of the younglings, Iskessah was picking up a faint trace of Isollana's scent. It took her only a moment to realize she was approaching the cliff they had both fallen over not long before. Knowing this might be her one chance of survival, she dove toward the cliff and stopped abruptly at the edge.

by **Licearsvansan** on July 22nd, 2013, 4:42 am

Things were going poorly for Kessah. He knew her natural scent by heart and right now he could smell her blood as well. She was in danger and it was all his fault. Svan cursed himself again and again as he slithered onward through the trees. Fortunately for male, the boar had led him closer to the cliff and so while Svan was far away from the female at first, the distance between them shortened rapidly. Svan weaved his tail back and forth as fast as his muscles could move and plotted a course to try to bump into the direction Kessah was headed. Had he kept his speed the entire time he would have bumped right into the woman, but as Svan began to near prey and predator he realized something he hadn't noticed before. The bear was gigantic.

It was times like this that he regretted his keen senses. The hazel eyed snake had no idea how he was supposed to help Kessah with something so large. Fear began to grip tightly over the snake as he continued onward, and though he kept getting closer his pace slowed. Svan didn't want to die, but it was his duty to protect the woman of the nest before himself. If he arrived in time to help Kessah he wasn't confident that he could do anything but serve as a brief snack so that she could escape. Part of Svan hated the very real possibility that he might have to give up his life for someone he didn't like, but he had no choice. In preparation for the possible battle to come Svan allowed himself to slow even further as he shifted into his Dhani form. As began to near his target Svan reminded himself one last time that if he was killed protecting Kessah he might at least get an epitaph noting that he had at least died a "real" Dhani. The thought comforted him slightly, and he could feel his bravery returning. Even so, Svan continued praying that he would be too late to help her.

Unfortunately, today was not Svan's lucky day. He arrived just in time to see Kessah leading the bear to the cliff. Hurried out into the open, worried that Kessah had cornered herself. Then, he realized that she had every intention of dumping the bear over the cliff. The very same cliff Isollana had fallen over. Perhaps Kessah had forgotten, perhaps she simply didn't care. Whatever the case, Svan did remember, and he certainly cared. If Isollana had fallen over and died then it would be alright. However, if she was still alive that meant that the bear would be unlikely to die from such a fall as well. Which meant that Kess was probably about to dump a DIRE GRIZZLY BEAR onto a fellow Dhani. More importantly, it was a Dhani Svan actually liked. The sound of Svan's rattle as he charged towards the bear was enough to wake both the living and the dead. More to the point, it was enough to catch the attention of a certain bear.

The Grizzly turned lazily to Svan as if the snake was interrupting a conversation, and like a spring Svan leaped onto the beast. Svan managed to catch its back and wrapped his arms around its massive neck. Trying to strangle this thing would be impossible even for a constrictor. The Dhani male peeked his head over the behemoths shoulder and shouted to Kessah, "Hurry, hit it with your tail. Do it while he is dis- Before Svan could finish, and before he could warp his tail around the beast for stability Svan felt a pair of claws clap around his neck. The next thing he knew he the bear had lifted him up by the throat and roughly slamming him down to earth. "By the Goddess it wrestles." Svan mumbled weakly as the world spun back into focus. All at once the severity of his situation rose back to the surface of his mind and Svan snapped his head back up. The first thing he saw was Kessah, the next thing he saw was the indent his tail had made in the ground directly next to her. Apparently when the bear had thrown him to the ground his tail had lashed out like a whip. It was amazing how hard his rattle was, he had barely even felt it.

The next thing Svan saw was the shadow of the bear looming like a mountain over them. Svan turned his head back quickly and saw the bear rise up onto its hind legs. The creatures massive form blocked out the sun and silhouetted its vengeful expression. Svan watched as the bear's chest filled with air in preparation for a roar, and as Svan's life flashed before his eyes time almost seemed to freeze.

He hadn't wanted this. He hadn't wanted any of it. He never asked to go hunting, he hadn't wanted to save Kessah, he didn't want to kill the boar, and he didn't want to die. It was all her fault.

If Kessah had any sense she wouldn't have caused Isollana to fall off a cliff. If he hadn't saved Kessah then this would never have happened. If Kessah had listened to him and used her petching head then he wouldn't have been run over by a boar. And if she hadn't endangered Isollana Svan could have sneaked up on the boar. Each and every failure today was because of her, and Svan just knew that she would blame him at the first chance she got. Deep down Svan wanted to hurt her. He wanted to sink his teeth into her and let every last bit of his venom pour into her. But he refused to act out on this secret desire. Instead he locked it deep within him like the rest of his hateful feelings, and faced his inevitable death with bravery. Svan stood between woman and bear with arms stretched out to guard Iskessah even though he knew it would be his end.

And then, in that fog of time just before death something in Svan's head clicked. All at once the immediate world around Svan seemed like a puzzle, and his mind raced to put the pieces together. The inhale, it meant that the bear was about to roar. If it roared then its head would be vulnerable. It was a small window of opportunity and Svan could use it to his advantage... but how? Perhaps if he jumped forward to punch it? No, a punch would be too weak and the bear would see it coming. His tail! Svan suddenly remembered the indent his tail had made in solid rock. The blow that had caused that indent however, had been backed by a tremendous amount of force. Svan, unskilled with fighting as he was, knew he couldn't twist himself well or hard enough to get that same power, but...Svan suddenly whipped his body around and he looked for the exact spot his tail struck the ground. "15 feet." Svan muttered in hushed monotone. Svan knew he was roughly fifteen feet and he had been thrown with his head directly below the bear's paw. The snake glanced to his hands, "Two" A roar sounded out from behind Svan, and felt the strangest of sensations overtake him. It was as if his mind had fallen through a trap door and was plummeting into the back of his head as his subconscious took hold of his body. Svan moved slightly so that he was centered over the mark in the ground and then like a gun, an arm shot out to catch Kessah by the throat. "Plus thirteen." A small smile crept over Svan's face, and his eyes stared into Kessah's. What Kessah was witnessing was what Svan later would come to refer to as a "trance". They were brief moments when Svan's subconscious mind usurped his conscious one, and he acted out on the desires he normally repressed. It was trances like these that were the product of his abuse. This one specifically, had been caused by Kess. To some degree, it was karma. If the Dhani woman had been nicer, or if she hadn't gotten him in such a stressful situation to begin with this would have never happened. Unfortunately for her, it had happened and now she was about to pay the price. In one movement Svan pulled her head towards him and wrapped his other hand around her neck.

And in the next, using every ounce of his strength he swung out with her like a baseball bat, and watched as the her tail rushed towards unprepared face of a grizzly bear.

oocA word of advice. If you give me permission to manhandle your character I will do so spectacularly. Oh and no, Svan's "trances" do not make him any stronger, smarter, quicker, ect. They are just moments when he acts out on his subconscious desires. He naturally thinks fast in tense situations. And if I overstepped my bounds please tell me.

by **Iskessah** on July 24th, 2013, 10:57 pm

Iskessah was so stunned by Svansan's audacity in grabbing her that she was unable to react before he swung her into the bear. Her tail stuck the grizzly with unbelievable force, and there was a loud crack that may have indicated a brake in the bear's jaw. The bear's attempt at a roar fizzled into a moan of pain. It gave the two Dhani a measuring look, and decided that this fight was not worth it. The dire grizzly backed up a few steps, and then ambled off to seek food that didn't fight back.

The threat having passed, Iskessah was now free to unleash the full force of her indignation onto Svansan. With his hand still around her neck, her reach was limited, but she sunk sharp fangs deep into his wrist (without releasing venom. Much as she would have liked to see this idiot die a slow and painful death, she did not want to waste the last of her poison. She was still hungry,,, and she might need it.) In case this failed to encourage his cooperation, she also swung her so-recently-weaponized tail into his chest. (Much as she would have liked to brain him to death, she did not want him to fall unconscious so close to a cliff while he was still holding her neck.)

She did not want him getting clever and trying to disable her by grabbing her tail as well, so Iskessah also began her transformation to dhani form. She berated Svansan (having by this point let go of his wrist), "How dare you! Do not ever touch me again you pathetic, unwanted offspring of Siku!"

His assault had been the last straw, She was too disgusted to bear the presence of such an un-Dhani male any longer. She would no longer allow him the benefit of her vastly superior experience. As far as she was concerned, the kill was hers. Without another word, she slithered away, following the scent of the almost-surely-dead-by-now boar. She would have liked to go at top speed to ensure Svansan could not beat her to her meal, but the adrenaline had worn off, and the gashes on her back were beginning to pain her. They seemed to have only gotten worse since she shifted forms.

By the time she reached the boar, a coyote had already started taking advantage of the fresh meal, but one hiss from Iskessah sent the scavenger running. At least some creatures still respected the dominance of Siku's children.

OOCI'll fight you for it

Or we can let the thread end before any more violence is inflicted. Whichever you think is more fun

by **Licearsvansan** on July 27th, 2013, 7:35 pm

Svan wasn't sure what had happened. One moment he was about to be eaten by a bear, and in the next the bear was walking away defeated and he Was holding Iskessah by the throat. Its not that he hadn't seen what he had done, but it all had felt like a dream. Now that the crisis had been averted, and Svan had been allowed to release his pent up aggression towards Iskessah he was left standing at the edge of a cliff confused and dazed. Time seemed to stretch out for an eternity as he tired to figure out what had been real and what, if anything, had been his imagination. Sure in the darkest regions of his mind he might have done such a thing to Iskessah, but never in his wildest dreams did he actually think that he would act on such feelings. Svan could have spent the rest of his life standing there wondering what strange trick his mind had played on him, but fortunately, Iskessah was of the impatient sort.

With a sharp pain at his wrist Svan was ripped from his thoughts, and with a crack to his chest he was bought to the ground. His grip on Iskessah was quickly abandoned, and the young Dhani hurried himself into a ball as he shuddered from the pain. It was hard to imagine that the coiled up mass of scales retreating in fear had been the same being that had driven away a dire grizzly bear, but a bear was quick and merciful. Iskessah would not be so kind. Luckily for Svan her wrath was outmatched by her disgust and instead of delivering him to Dira's cold embrace, he was left to rot on the cliff's edge.

Once she had gone Svan slowly peeked his head out from beneath a coil and began to unwind himself. As he rose to a proper stance he was met with a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down and gingerly touching the wound he was able to deduce that a rib had been broken by the woman's cruel assault. Each breath was rough and brought with it a new wave of pain. However, while it was indeed painful for the young Dhani, it was hardly a new experience for him. To some extent he almost welcomed it. A broken bone meant that his mother would give him just enough time for the bone to reset before resuming to torment him. The times when he was seriously wounded were perhaps the only times he had actually seen his mother act...motherly. Unfortunately, Svan had more pressing concerns than a few broken bones.

Iskessah had bitten him and that meant the possibility the he had been poisoned. The Dhani raised his hand into the light and observed his wound carefully. Four deep red holes marked his wrist, and if held up to the light Svan could not only see the white meat of his arm, he could see THROUGH it. It was both horrible and wonderful. The idea of being able to see though the holes left by the snake fangs that had punched clear through your arm was both terrifying and painful, but it also meant that it was unlikely Kessah had poisoned him. Svan had seen first had what effect a Dhani's venom had on bleeding and had there been venom the wound would have been leaking much more profusely than it was. That and the fact that the tips of her fangs had gone past his flesh were enough to make Svan realize that he wasn't about to die. But she could have still tried couldn't she? A light voice at the back of Svan's head rang out. Svan hadn't been poisoned but that didn't mean Iskessah hadn't tried to poison him. From what he knew of his wound there was still the very real possibility that she had tried to poison him and had simply missed. The thought made Svan shudder. Was it possible that Iskessah would actually try to kill him? Why don't we ask Isollana? She is right down that cliff Kessah let her fall off of. Don't worry, she should still be alive. After all, we did manage to stop Kessah from dropping that bear on her. Svan shook his head as if it would dislodge the thoughts going on in his mind. No, she wouldn't do that to us- I mean me! Svan's didn't want to admit that these other thoughts in his head were still his own, but he realized that isolating it as a separate entity would only cause him more trouble. Why not? Svan asked himself regarding his own answer. She hates me. I attacked her. I deserve to die. So why wouldn't she kill me. The snake paused as he searched for an answer, but in the end he knew of only one. Because I'm not worth it. It wasn't his favorite answer but it was one he had come to accept.

Solemnly the snake let his tongue taste the air, and the coppery taste of Kessah's blood quickly filled his senses. All at once he realized that he was being left behind and without a moments thought Svan chased after her. Briefly in the back of his head the Dhani had considered going home and retiring from such a horrible day, but Kessah hadn't given him permission to leave her. She had simply told him not to touch her. While clever, he was still young and often the implied meaning of things were lost on him. Kessah had given him and order to hunt with her and he was going to follow it. it simply wasn't in his place to think any other unnecessary thoughts. He had tried to make his own decisions three times today and what had that gotten him. A plethora of wounds.

When Svan finally caught up with Iskessah he saw her hissing away some coyote. Seeing this Svan believed it to be some part of his lesson. She was teaching his the proper way to chase away predators. And so with completely harmless reasoning in his head, and an eagerness to get on Kessah's good side he did the only thing he logically could think of.

He followed suit.

by **Iskessah** on August 10th, 2013, 10:23 pm

Iskessah noticed Svansan following her, but she fully intended to ignore the worthless creature unless he gave her a reason to hurt him more. Perhaps he would decide to chase the coyote for his meal. As long as he kept away from the boar, she didn't really care. She unhinged her jaw and began the long, slow process of pulling the carcass down her throat.

This gave her plenty of time to think. She stayed alert enough to notice obvious danger, but she considered this the easy part, the end of the hunt, mission accomplished, so she could afford to indulge in a bit of mind-wandering. Only when she had this freedom to reflect did she realize what a phenomenal failure today had been. She had lost her original charge, the one she was supposed to use to prove her responsibility. As if that wasn't bad enough, she'd then had the arrogance to believe she could turn the infamous Svansan into a real Dhani. It was clear that the male had neither the respect nor the cleverness to be a competent member of the nest.

She'd been too optimistic before. It was clear to her now, Svansan would never be worth anything, and nothing he could do would convince her otherwise. It also reflected badly on all males; she had limited contact with the inferior sex, but if Svansan was representative of the lot, she could not imagine stomaching any male for an extended period of time. She knew that the needed males to mate, of course, but she could not fathom keeping Svansan around for any other reason. She despaired of ever having the patience for hatchlings of her own, especially if they were all going to be as incompetent as Isollana and Svansan. Why were younglings so stupid? Certainly she was never like that.

By the time she had finished swallowing her meal, she had fully made up her mind that younglings were not worth her time. She would ignore Svansan completely from then on, unless he got too close to her personal space, in which case she'd obviously retaliate with violence. Sadly, her mother might have something to say about her outright killing a fellow Dhani, and Iskessah wasn't sure her word was valued enough to convince Ssrassh that Svansan didn't count. So Svansan would not die by Iskessah's fang, as much trouble as it would save her.

by **Licearsvansan** on August 12th, 2013, 3:45 am

As Svan finished hissing, his face lit up like a dog expecting to be pet. He thought he had done a good thing by following her example, but in the end she just continued to ignore him. She was still mad. Svan could practically feel the annoyance drifting of of her like a foul cloud. "Kessah?" the young Dhani whimpered as he watched the last of the food slide into her mouth. His stomach growled as it realized that he was going to reap any of the benefits of this hunt. "But I help-" Svan stopped himself before Kessah could. He knew it didn't matter. It never did. Dhani were cruel and manipulative, and she had simply used him to get a free meal. He doubted that she had even tried to teach him anything. In fact Svan could have done better on his own than with her 'help'. Svan groaned pathetically and shrank back away from Kessah.

He did all the work and she had reaped the rewards. In the Dhani world the strong and cruel ruled over the meek and kind. It didn't seem fair and it wasn't right, but it was the way thing always had been and it was the way they always would be. There was no place in the Dhani world for nice snakes, and the sooner Svan realized that the better. But just like his parents Svan was the stubborn sort of guy who didn't give up easily. He wanted to believe that the good guys could come out on top, and that the villains who find their well earned justice. However, right now it was hard to believe that something like karma could exist.

When Kessah headed back towards the nest Svan followed quietly behind with his head hanging in defeat. Maybe the other Dhani were correct. Might makes right after all. Svan glanced up to the woman in front of him. Perhaps if he wanted justice he should take it himself. It would be easy, she wasn't even paying attention to him. He had the power and wit to do so, and no one could blame Svan for punishing the fiend who had wronged him. However, such things were still beyond him. His rebellion against the people who took advantage of him was still nothing more that a whisper at the back of his head. Still, it was a whisper that had taken form for the first time today, and would do so many more times in the future. But for now Svan silenced the thought and followed along like a good little Dhani. He would not strike out against the woman. Svan would continue to suffer for his good deeds, and Iskessah would escape her karma once again. Thats the way it always had been.

But if Svan could see the future he would know that it was not the way it would always be.

by **Noblesse** on September 14th, 2013, 5:57 pm

Iskessah Kosun :

Licearsvansan :

Trahasiisollana :

Additional Notes :

The Aurora flames coldly in the skies above

[indent]If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.

Flashback A Simple Hunt (Isollana, Svan)